Lens Shade Questions for Sinar P

[JBelthoff]

Hi,

I currently own a Sinar P 4x5 and I have one 150mm lens which I truly loving using.

Now I am trying to build upon that system and looking for some kind of workable lens shade for this system. I would prefer some kind of compendium shade, Sinar perhaps, but I am open to hearing what other people are effectively using including any DIY solutions that might be viable.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

-- JB

[Frank Petronio]

There was a thread a week or two ago that covered a wide range of lenshade options, especially for Sinar.

What I have that I like a lot, after many years of experimentation, is to use a modern accessory standard (the front of an F1) with a 150mm hex rod, bellows clamp, and spare bellows. I also added the lens masking gizmo. It is definitely bulky but I use an upside down carrying method in a large Tenba View Camera Case, so the bulk does not matter to me. What is nice is that I can tailor the shade to exactly the edge of the frame and get maximum shading in any situation.

In practice it is foolproof and easy to access lens controls. If I used filters it would be a nice way to go too. My only caution is that you don't want to be rough with the masking gizmo, it is solid but not overbuilt and you could knock a knob or get it bound up if you're careless (it is fine in normal use). Truth is that you don't really need it, the basic bellows shade is still way more than what most people use.

[Leigh]

The standard Sinar shade is quite odd. It uses a regular bellows mounted on a special pair of holders.

The holders fit on a hexagonal rod that fits in a hole at the lower front of the front standard.

It's a relatively inexpensive solution.

- Leigh

[Captain_joe6]

I'll second everything that Frank says. A lighter-weight option is to use the rod, and two bellows clips and a spare bellows. No masking ability, but much less bulk. Not that bulk is something you can cut down with a P...

[Joseph Dickerson]

The standard Sinar shade is quite odd. It uses a regular bellows mounted on a special pair of holders.

The holders fit on a hexagonal rod that fits in a hole at the lower front of the front standard.

It's a relatively inexpensive solution.

- Leigh

Not to mention very efficient. If you don't have a spare bellows you can buy a shabby one as it doesn't have to be 100% light tight. Hex rod and bellows clips are not expensive on Ebay and I bought a crappy bellows for twenty five bucks.

JD

[JBelthoff]

Excellent!

However what is a "lens masking gizmo"? I'm not sure I understand what you are refering to.

I get the extra bellows, rod and another standard, etc.... but the gizmo I'm not getting.

Any photos or descriptions you can send me to?

[Leigh]

The lens masking gizmo is part of a different lens hood system. It requires an additional standard in front of the lens.
The mask has four movable flags to restrict the angle of view, and thus block stray light sources.

You mount the mask on the front of the standard and a bellows on the back, supported by the hex rod pointing to the rear.
This provides space between the rear of the hood bellows and the shutter so you can access the levers.

This is my understanding of the system from the Sinar literature. I've never seen or used one.

- Leigh

[Jerry Flynn]

The masking device works sort of like the blades on a four-bladed easel. It goes on the front of the shade you can adjust the "blades" so that just the image area is unshaded. It can be used as a matte box as well.

Another thing you might consider is the jointed rod. It consists of two hex rods with ball joint ends that connect to a locking block. With this, you can swing/tilt the bellows shade to match the camera movements. They appear from time-to-time oneBay and are more expensive than the straight hex rods.

[frotog]

Sinar hood mask II, part #533.21.000. Great tool, especially for longer focal lengths. For shorter focal lengths you might be better served using the hood mask I attached to sinar f front standard and just skip the bellows all together. I use the hood mask ii with my p2 and a 150mm lens on my 57. Due to the chunky size of the p2 standard bearers in order to get it close enough to the lens I need to use the low profile norma front standard mounted backwards on the rail. Works like a charm.

[JBelthoff]

OK, I see... Mask I has barn doors and Mask II is the 4 bladed shutter/easel. Nice. So there are a lot of options here to look into.

Seems like any crappy bellows with rod and clips will do and if I want to build on that I can add any crappy standard that has the hole for the rod and then get into any of the masks if I want to go that far.

I appreciate all of your help in this matter. This is great info.

Now I get to shop for bargains!!!! :)

Thanks all!

[Drew Wiley]

What I have used for decades on all my Sinars, including the Norma, is the little barndoor
flap system in the front of a regular length 4x5 bellows, attached with the simple little rod.
The rod lengths can easily be interchanged, so that this works as a lightwt easily-collapsed
compendium system for any focal length lens or rail extension. I just leave it on the camera. And it's a very good application for an older bellows that might have a few light
leaks in the folds.

[JBelthoff]

Drew,

Do you use another standard for this or just use the rod attached to the lens standard?

How do you attached the Barn doors to the bellows?